Ginger Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ginger-spiced carrot cake made with 3 types of ginger in an 8x8-inch pan. This single layer cake is perfect for snacking. Part of my Lynn's Desserts recipe series.
Servings: 16 2-inch squares
Calories: 255kcal
Equipment
- 1 8x8-inch metal baking pan this is the one that I use
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- ½ pound grated carrots from about 4 large carrots
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened at room temp (half a stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 ounces light brown sugar just under ½ cup
- ¼ cup canola oil vegetable oil also works
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon allspice optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese see note
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temp
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped crystalized ginger optional
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Peel the carrots. Grate the carrots finely using the smallest holes on a box grater. Measure out ½ pound (8 ounces), or about 1 cup grated carrot and set aside. Use the same sized holes or a small microplane to grate the fresh ginger. Measure out 2 teaspoons of grated ginger. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch metal baking pan with butter. Place a square of parchment paper in the base of the pan for easy cake removal (optional.)
- In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed or a mixing spoon to mix together the softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until just combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, optional allspice, nutmeg, dry ginger, cloves, and 2 teaspoons grated ginger.
- Once combined, fold in the grated carrots and optional nuts.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared 8x8-inch pan. Bake at 350F for 25 to 35 minutes. Check the cake for doneness starting at 25 minutes (be careful not to slam the oven door or shake the cake pan.) When the cake is done, it should be slightly domed on the top, the edges will be golden and pulling away from the pan, and the center should spring back went touched gently.
- Let the cake cool for no more than 10 minutes before gently removing from the pan and turning out on a cooling rack. Once cooled completely, top with the cream cheese frosting and optional pecans. Enjoy!
Cream Cheese Frosting
- The cream cheese and butter should be room temperature/softened for this step. Use a hand mixer to cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the vanilla, ground ginger, and half of the powdered sugar. Continue mixing on low speed.
- Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add in the remaining 1 cup. The cream cheese frosting should be thick but easily spreadable. Add a splash of milk if it is too thick, or add additional powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time if it is too thin.
- Fold in the crystalized ginger. I recommend dicing the ginger into tiny pieces so that it distributes evenly into the frosting. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I use a kitchen scale to measure out the ingredients most consistently and I highly recommend that you do too! If you don't have a scale, make sure to "spoon and level" flour into the measuring cup. This means spooning flour into the measuring cup until overflowing, then wiping off excess with the back of a knife.
- Brown sugar: 3 ounces is not a standard US measurement, so if you don't have a kitchen scale, just measure out a scant (just under) ½ cup brown sugar.
- Cream cheese: I recommend using full fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture.
- To make cupcakes: Makes 12 standard carrot cupcakes. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅘ full. Bake at the same oven temp (350F) for only a few minutes less than the 8x8-inch cake. Start checking the cupcakes at 20 minutes. They are ready when the top is golden and domed.
- To make a layer cake: One 8x8-inch snack cake is approximately one layer of a layer cake if using a 9-inch cake pan. The cake will bake a touch more quickly in 9x9-inch pan than 8-inch. Simply multiply the recipe by 2-3, depending on how many layers you'd like to make, then divide the batter between cake pans.
Nutrition
Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 1770IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
